welcome summer

it's our first weekend of summer! we're heading out of town for camping adventure with a big group of friends. it's an annual thing.

on repeat:

swim suits + sunscreen

squirt guns + scavenger hunts

portable bar + playlists

making memories with friends.

image: groovy soup check out my pinterest board field notes for more outdoor goodness. 

have a great weekend!!

Be always coming home

Please bring strange things.
Please come bringing new things.
Let very old things come into your hands.
Let what you do not know come into your eyes.
Let desert sand harden your feet.
Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.
Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
And the ways you go be the lines of your palms.

Ursula K. Leguin

+++

for tens of years we have been kicking summer off with an annual family trip to palm springs. it's the place where the whole family - grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews come to reunite. warm days and late nights are spent talking, carousing, and catching up. luckily, a lot stays the same. luckily, a lot is always changing. these moments become deep grooves in life. we grew up here, our kids are doing the same. 

please bring strange things, new things. let the very old things come into your hands. 

so many memories are made during the freedom of summer. are there places or traditions you return to year after year? 

be always coming home. xx

one night

sometimes you just need to 

walk out into the night, 

into crowded streets 

to feel alive.

sometimes you just need to get into your car

together,

without a plan 

and start driving.

sometimes you end up in a dark underground bar 

with live music & strong drinks 

that quickly wash away the busyness that's gotten between you.

sometimes, one night is all it takes to reconnect again.

feeling, away

standing at the edge of summer, we had a lovely long weekend in Mexico. 

hope your weekend was wonderful too. xx

Tell your story

It's 7:01 pm. My meeting started one minute ago. Our topic tonight is, Documenting our Legacy. I'm not ready and still not sure if I'm going to go. I am heavy on the bed listening to cnn for the first time all day. I needed a break. I hear Anderson Cooper say, "Next, a family who lost their little girl in the tornado, they want to tell her story, they want you to know who she was." I took that as a sign. I showered and drove to my meeting. 

“Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy. I was sad. I was in love. I was afraid. I was hopeful. I had an idea and I had a good purpose and that's why I made works of art. ” Felix Gonzales-Torres. Years ago I read that quote, it put words to a feeling that I'd had for a long time.

We exist. We have a story. Life is about figuring out how we tell it.

Everyday I encounter ordinary people, with ordinary lives. I am one of them. We're all making a living, raising a family, busy, stressed, happy, sad, with wins and losses, going about our days, generally unknown to the larger world. Striking were the times when I was wandering around a country like India or Nepal and I would see people where ordinary means you're one of a billion people, in poverty, with little room for mobility. Looking at yourself in that situation, you may wonder, how do I matter? What am I really leaving behind?

The fact is, we all have a story. And we all have a story that affects someone else. And many times, we don't see it the impact of it. We mistakenly focus on feeling less than, not so special, a small voice in a very big world. We need to try more often to see our impact, cherish our place, direct our story. 

"The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It’s overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt." Leo Buscaglia

Life's not about being big, it's about being bold, being brave, and being real. It's about believing in our own person, not keeping up with someone else's. It's about touching one person at a time, starting with ourselves. 

We all have a story, and we all impact each other. We tell our story in everything we do. Our life becomes our legacy. 

Do you know you what you want your life to say about you?

floodline

we all have those points at which we break.
the water has risen too high,
it's flooding.

then the tide recedes,
things dry out,
and the waters are calm once again.

it is in these times of high rise that we need to know our floodline. 

+++

As I stand back and look at my life lately, I notice that I don't live at an even rhythm. I have waves of being super busy, up late, with too many things happening at once, feeling overwhelmed and not sleeping. Then, I either complete the things I am working on or just finally tire out and relax. I tune back into the slower life, light candles, cook a beautiful meal, linger, garden, catch up on reading, and simply hang with my family. Then, at some point, this cycle starts all over again. 

I look at my husband, or rather he looks at me, wondering why I go through all this craziness all the time, while he is so steady, even, rhythmic. Last night we talked about having too many interests, too many things that I am pursuing at one time. 

You can have it all, just not all at once. 

Ah, yes, this. I re-discovered this quote recently. While I haven't stopped trying to do it all right now, I've starting to become aware of the possible impossibility of it. At least that's a start, right?

images: pool, mexico beach, floodline series 2 by lisa golightly.

nothing to say

sometimes we have nothing to say,
nothing original anyway.
and by original, i mean authentic.
puling up that which is inside
and expressing it through thoughts, words, images or even a smile.
i feel depleted.

but the wind is blowing the warm air in,
and the sprinklers are on
and the sprouts are coming up.
so i am heading to the garden
to revitalize it
and me
and try to dig up
something to say.

Are you fully living?

This is a screenshot from a video I shot at the park of Olivia and her best friend. The video is 00:07:37 minutes long and there are three more just like it. In others, the girls twirl up tight on the swings and then spin around in a fit of giggles. They played for over two hours. Most of the time we were the only ones in the park. This sweet moment was 00:05:53 into the film. 

I have watched this video a handful of times now. To be honest, it's pretty meditative and I've been playing it in the background as I work. The girls, their laughter, the creaky sound of the metal swings, their friendship, conversation, and you can almost hear the soft sun shining through. I often wonder how magic happens and how much of the time it doesn't, or it does, but I miss it. What makes some moments come alive, I think about this a lot. I need to. These moments, strung together, are the whole of life. 

+++

How to live, fully.

• Question life. Questions are catalysts for change. They open up the world, challenge us, make us think and grow. 

• Cause wonder. Create moments of awe. Asking a question causes wonder. So does stargazing or watching kids swing. Try it. 

• Don't answer. Live the questions. Let the answers find you. The asking distills what's important, then the answers rise to the top. Scoop them up.

• Lose your balance. Life is moving, let go and embrace change. Even better, seek it. Nothing makes us feel more alive than a change on the horizon. 

• Stand at the center. At the center of all movement there is stillness. Position yourself there. Chaos is always better from this vantage point. 

• Live in-between. It's called liminality. Let go of your stance, don't get stuck being defined. Open up, embrace not knowing.

• Be patient. Everything ripens in it's own time. Cease the moment, but believe in eternity. 

• Be present. Dive into now. Have a look around.

• Find acceptance. This is really the key to everything in life. To being at peace with yourself, to being present in the moment, you must find this. Dig deep. 

• Practice gratitude. Say thank you, everyday.

Do you have those moments when time melts away and you're perfectly content exactly where you are now? Want to have more of these moments? Me too. Let's figure out how! Share your tips.

Here's to fully living your week. xx

how to find me

image by Ali Bosworth

The year's energy has picked up again, do you feel it too? What went from a lazy spring break feel has suddenly refocused into an intense work week and a long list of things to do. I have so many projects going on I'm feeling buried beneath it all. 

After I saw this image, I told my husband that he could find me by chance or appointment. 

I don't think he was amused.

A little lost

“For me, childhood roaming was what developed self-reliance, a sense of direction and adventure, imagination, a will to explore, to be able to get a little lost and then figure out the way back.” Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost

This is the place where our children explore. They can run a bit free. The beaches are empty, the vineyards have hidden paths, the roads are dirt. They run around together, in the feeling of another country, almost another time. Under our watchful eye, there are places they can escape to, to feel unwatched, feel independent. 

Earlier I talked about letting kids take risks, what about letting them be just a bit out of sight? Thinking back to my own childhood I had such freedom. My girls are really young, but there are places that I feel comfortable letting them roam just beyond my glance. How about you, do you let your kids wander a bit? Did you have that luxury in your childhood? 

It's Monday, have a great week!

in the sea

with brand new nets in hand, they went hunting in the sea. 

[the catch]
three sand dollars, 
twenty-two shells, 
four bits of sea glass,
an old yellow star,
one bottle cap,
two weathered sticks,
an army man,
three giant clamshells,
and seven smooth rocks.

are you on the hunt for anything this weekend? i hope you enjoy a great one.

wandering

"He made the world to be a grassy road before her wandering feet." Yeats

There's nothing I like more than exploring without agenda. It's not always the easiest thing with four littles in tow, but by now, they're pretty used to our wandering ways. 

Basic ingredients for family happiness: chilled wine, local olives, bread, cheese and honey, colored pencils, paths to roam, flowers to pick, and the occasional farm animal. 

What are your ingredients for a happy family outing?

a good traveler

has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
today, you'll find us resting on the floor,
right where we should be.

about living

living take effort.
i was reminded of that this weekend. 
when things end, appreciation is born
the moment becomes clear,
we reorient.

+++

a friend asked me why i was doing this paleo challenge, what was i hoping to get out of it. i gave all my reasons and then told her how i was thinking that if i can commit to doing something like this, why couldn't i commit to painting everyday. well, there's no reason really. so i did. i committed to painting everyday for 21 days. and at the end of it, i hope to have a body of work built up again so that i can finally start an etsy shop, something i've been wanting to do for awhile now. 

we got snow this week in our local mountains. we were trying to decide if we should go up. it's a lot of work digging around for the snow clothes from last year, seeing what fits, dressing the kids, packing a change of clothes for four people, snacks, sleds, the laundry when returning home, the whole bit. but that's living, i mentioned. living, really living the life you dream of, takes effort. committing to eating healthier means more time in the kitchen. committing to painting means more focus, working at night when i feel like relaxing. the trip to the mountains was so worth it. it always is. 

this weekend, we found out we lost a good friend. we went to the memorial and listened to stories, talked about life. we remembered him. and reminded ourselves, about living.

in between

book as background: kinfolk.

I'm notorious slow to make my full list of resolutions each year. I ususally give myself to the end of January to get it all together. But then I start feeling anxious because it's now the end of January and I haven't gotten started on my year. 

This year, we are two weeks in and my list is complete. And I have actually begun living my goals, writing here being one of them.

As with all of my resolutions for the year, I commit, while remembering that I can't do it all and certainly not all at once. One of my resolutions is to remind myself that living- my home, my family, the normal constant stuff of life, is always accomplishment enough. 

along for the ride

Life is ours to be spent. 
D.H. Lawrence